Method for improving and removing the odor and/or flavor of legumes



Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUIS w. ms AND HERBERT o. nmmnn, or CHICAGO, ILLmoIs, ASSIGNOBS. BY IESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro J. n. snonrr MILLING comramr, or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS,

A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS men ron. mnovme AND REMOVING rm": onon AND/OR FLAVOR or LEGUMES 1T0 Drawing.

T is invention relates tothe method of removing objectionable odors and flavors of certain legumes and the like, and to the resultant products obtained from such methods or treatments. I

19 for food products without materially aflecting their value as food products.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved leguminous food product that does not possess the characteristic odor or flavor of the legume from which it is obtained. I

Another object of the invention is the provision' of a new and improved method of removing the characteristic odor or flavor or both from leguminous food products to any degree desired.

A still further object of the invention is vision of a new and improved leguminous nous food product that has the nutritive value of the legumes from which it was derived, without the characteristic flavor and odor, whereby this material may be more extensively employed in the preparation of ordinary and dietetic food products.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved method of preparing leguminous food products that is inexpensive to perform, that will sterilize the material, thereby increasing its keeping qualities, and that is efl'ective in removing the characteristic flavor and odor of the legume from which the product is derived, without impairing its nutritive value.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention-will appear from the following description as the same proceeds.

Nearly all legumes. such as beans. peas, lentils and the like possess odors and flavors characteristic for each kind and in most cases strong and objectionable enough to prohibit the use of the same alone or in, admixture with food stuffs as regular or special food for human beings. Different methods such as heating and roasting, treatment with oxidizing agents or extraction with certain or- Lpplicationfiled June 17, 1980. Serial No. 461,844.

ganic solvents have been previously suggested forremoving the objectionable flavor of certain legumes, but none met with satisfaccompletely, and without appreciably impairing the nutritive value, especially the enzymes, the flavor and odor of flours of legames such as soybeans, navy beans, peas, lentils, so that said materials, on account of then nutritive value, may be used more extenslvely in the preparation of ordinary and dietetic food products having no objectionable or unpleasant flavor and odor.

In general, the invention preferably though not necessarily consists of first disintegrating the legumes as by grinding the same to flour and then treating the flour, the flavor and odor of which is intended to be lmproved and/or removed. with a suitable reducing agent or agents, such as formaldehyde or other aldehyde or volatile reducing agent. and removing any volatile objectionable flavoring substances which may be formed during such treatment. Experiments have demonstrated that the use of the lower members of the aliphatic aldehydes such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde give excellent results. It has been found that by such a treatment any one or all of the objects and advantages outlined above may be obtained. There are many ways of accomplishing the desired results. some of which will now be described by way of example.

In case the reducing agent employed is of a gaseous nature, such for instance as formaldehyde. the flour is treated in a closed chamber with the gas alone or mixed with air as may be desired. I

In practice. the leguminous material to be treated, it not already ground or reduced to flour, is disintegrated, after which it is placed in a closed chamber and is treated with the reducing gas. such as formaldehyde gas. In order to hasten the action of the gas the required for the reaction of the gas on the material will depend on a number of factors,

such as the nature of the material, the prortionate amount of the flavor and odor to he removed and the amount of. gas employed. Under ordina circumstances, from one to five hours wilYbe suflicient to remove the odor and flavor to such anextent thatthe disintegrated material will not be ob ectlonable in use with cereal flour.

In the more objectonable flavors, like that of the soybean, the period of treatment is more or less prolonged, depending on the extent to which the flavor is to be removed. It has been found that by experiment, for instance, if 100 ams by weight of soybean flour be expo {for two days to .925 grams of pure aldehyde gas distributed in four liters of air and following this treatment with heating the material at slightly increased temperature for removing the volatile material, all objectionable odors and flavors are completely removed, and'in fact all of the characteristic soybean flavor and odor.

Instead of employing the reducing a nt in gaseous ,form the same may be disso ved in a solvent that is ada ted to be evaporated at comparatively m legumes treated with the liquid. For c011 venence of description this method may be termed the impregnation method. As in the previous method, the legumes are ground or disintegrated to form finely divided material which is not only in a form more desirable for use in foods, but isin a state that is more easily treated with the reducing agent. The legume flour or disintegrated material is then im regnated with a solution containing the re ucing agent, such for instance as formaldehyde dissolved in water, alcohol or acetone, and after a certain length of time,

' depending on the strength of the solution and ducing erate temperatures, such as water, alcohol or acetone, and the.

force the liquid through the entire mas. It has been found by experiment that a leper amount ofreducing agent may be em loyed in the impre ation method than in e gaseous meth em alnhomically. f rod e amount 0 ucing' agent requu'ed' will depend on the form of treatment, the

kind of leguminous material treated, and thestrength of the solution used. The following, by way of exam le, will illustrate the relative proportions of integrated material, reducmg agent and water. One hundred flour was treated with 0;? so ution o; no agent comprising 0. grams 0 formal ehyde dissolved in fifteen grams of water and then mixed uniformly with the flour. After a certan time the mixture was subjected in a hydraulic press, fimt to 5000 lbs. pressure for thirty minutes, and then to agentisrequiredasthe and is accomplished more.

18,000 lbs. pressure for five minutes, and

finally heated at 50 C. in vacuo for a short time. When the flour was treated with formaldehyde gas as stated above, 0.925 grams considerable extent upon the kind and nature of legum' nous material used, upon the proportion of amount of the flavor and/or odorto be removed, and upon the method employed.

In any method employed the flour of the legumes will be more or lea sterilized, thus improving is p y keeping q y d commercial value. a

We claim as our invention:

1. A method of removing the characteristic flavor of legumes which consists in reducing said legumes to a finely divided state and then treating the finely divided mateii iii i iit i'i i 1 rs o e p c a e y e up or a time suflicient to remove the it' 335' f an; 1 inch 2. met -o trea egumes w comprises redueting said legumes to aflonr and then treating said flour with a lower member of the aliphatic aldehyde group for a time suflicient to simultaneously remove the desired portion of the character-Hie .leguminous flavor and odor.

3. A method of reducing the character-is tic flavor and odor of legumes which can sists in disintegrating the legume and then subjecting the disintegrated material to the reducing action of formaldehyde for a time suficient to remove the characteristic flavor and odor.

a a time sufiicient to remove the characteristic flavor and odor.

5. A method of reducin the characteristic flavor of disinte rate legumes which consists in treating t e disintegrated material in a closed chamber with a gaseousreducing agent of the lower members of the aliphatic aldehyde group for a time suflicient to remove the characteristic flavor andodor and agitating the mass to hasten the reaction, and then moderately heating the mass to expel the volatile elements remaining in said mass. v

6. A method of reducing the characteristic flavor and odor of legumes which consists in disintegrating the legume and then subjecting the disintegrated material to the reducing action of a solution of one of the lower members of the aliphatic aldehyde group for 90 a time suificient to remove the characteristic flavor and odor. v a 7. A method of reducing'the characteristic flavor and odor of legumes which consists in disintegrating the legume and then subjecting the disintegrated material to the action of a solution of acetaldehyde for a time sufficient to remove the characteristic flavor and odor, subjecting the mass to pressure and then drying the mass. 1 Intestimony whereof'we afiix our signatures.

' LOUIS W. HAAS.

HERBERT Q. RENNER. 

